Journal of social work in end-of-life & palliative care
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J Soc Work End Life Palliat Care · Jan 2006
"They don't want to hear us": Hispanic elders and adult children speak about end-of-life planning.
This study used focus groups to understand Hispanic elders' and adult children's concerns about end-of-life planning. Ten older persons participated in the elders group, and ten adult children in a separate group. ⋯ Communication regarding end-of-life planning was of particular importance to both elders and adult children. The most striking indication of the challenges in communication about end-of-life issues is the insistence by both the elders and the adult children that their children/ parents do not want to have these discussions.
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J Soc Work End Life Palliat Care · Jan 2006
The role of social work in the ICU: reducing family distress and facilitating end-of-life decision-making.
The costs associated with Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are high and at times invasive ICU care may not be beneficial, particularly for those patients admitted to ICUs who have little hope of recovery. The process of clarifying medical goals for these patients is often facilitated by addressing psychosocial factors. ⋯ This can not only help improve quality of life for very sick and dying patients in the ICU and their families, but may also reduce the likelihood of decision-making conflicts from arising. Further studies need to be done to investigate the effectiveness of social work interventions in reducing family distress, avoiding care that is unwanted by patients, and demonstrating cost-saving benefits.
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J Soc Work End Life Palliat Care · Jan 2006
Linguistic competence/language access services (LAS) in end-of-life and palliative care: a social work leadership imperative.
Despite the mandated and moral imperative to advance linguistic competence in all health care contexts, leadership that addresses this area of practice and study in end-of-life and palliative care is not readily obvious. Because social work is ideally suited to lead efforts to advance linguistically-accessible end-of-life and palliative care, social workers are encouraged to assume the challenge. This article focuses on topics that are elementary yet central to discussions on language diversity and leadership initiatives to advance language access in end-of-life and palliative care contexts: importance and function of language, extent of language diversity, inequity related to language diversity, mandates and standards related to language access, and approaches and competencies that contribute positively to language access.
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J Soc Work End Life Palliat Care · Jan 2005
Comparative StudyBeliefs, death, anxiety, denial, and treatment preferences in end-of-life care: a comparison of social work students, community residents, and medical students.
This study examined cultural and religious beliefs, death anxiety, denial, and medical treatment preferences in end-of-life care in a sample of social work students, community residents, and medical students in a mid-western city of 49,000. Results indicated that most social work students, community residents, and medical students preferred palliative as opposed to life-prolonging care during terminal illness. ⋯ Students reported less denial of terminality than community residents. Implications for personal and professional preparation to provide end-of-life care are discussed.
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J Soc Work End Life Palliat Care · Jan 2005
Developing practice tools for social workers in end-of-life care.
This article describes the National Association of Social Workers' (NASW) strategies for providing social workers with important practice and policy information about palliative and end-of-life care. With funding from a Soros Foundation's Project on Death in America grant, NASW developed practice standards, a Web-based continuing education course, and drafted a new policy statement to guide social workers in end-of-life care practice. The article provides an in-depth view of the development and scope of these resources for professional social workers.